I bought a new car! I wanted something with good fuel economy as I'm driving about 20,000 miles a year and my Tacoma just wasn't the right vehicle anymore. I landed on a 2018 Chevrolet Volt. The Volt is a range-extended electric car (not a hybrid). The first 53 miles are fully electric. The next 350... Continue Reading →

I love traveling to cities with well-known landmarks. St. Louis is no exception. The last time I was in Missouri was about 10 years ago on my cross-country motorcycle trip. I only touched the extreme southwest corner of the state which doesn't give me any sort of Missouri credibility. When traveling, I always try to... Continue Reading →

Starting off in print photography, I learned that the standard photograph here in the States is 4" x 6". Just about every film camera takes images in that aspect ratio. The prevalence of digital cameras and digital media changed all that. Photographers are less bound by fixed print sizes and thus can be significantly more... Continue Reading →

Easter Sunday affords one of the most unique rides in the bay area. This ride started in the mid-1980s by a couple of hard-core vintage motorcycle riders and some good friends within the California State Parks. What is it? It's the annual sunrise ride to the summit parking lot of Mount Tamalpais. There's an optional... Continue Reading →

I'm a huge fan of voice dictation. I first fell in love with Nuance NaturallySpeaking on the Windows platform. After I switched over to the Mac and purchased Dragon for Mac 4, I was sorely disappointed. The dictation quality was not near as good nor was the cursor handling. I quickly backpedaled trying to get... Continue Reading →

In the summer, this place is packed. The Vikingsholm parking lot is overloaded with cars on top of the $10 usage fee that goes to the state parks. What about in the fall, on a Tuesday, at 5 PM? The parking lot is empty. I don't mind the $10. It's actually complementary with the California... Continue Reading →

Yes, it is true that it is always 5 o'clock somewhere. At this moment, it's 5 o'clock in Lake Tahoe, California. And yes, it's time to go out on the motorcycle. One of the key things I look for in a location is the 5 o'clock ride. What is the 5 o'clock ride? The 5... Continue Reading →

Getting to Tahoe has been a journey. At first, I thought I wanted to live alone and rent an Airbnb. However, I'm so glad I rented a room from friends I know up here. I didn't know if I was going to have much time both during the day and collectively throughout my entire stay... Continue Reading →

I'm settling into week three (and I know I'm behind on two blogs) but I wanted to quickly capture the essence of my evening. It's different living in a small town. I've never spent a considerable amount of time in a place with less than 4 million people. Reno is the big city in... Continue Reading →

This is my first motorcycle ride back from the Sierras since moving to the East Bay and it was decidedly different in good and unexpected ways. I did my first long ride in almost 3 years. That in and of itself is awesome. When riding I'm often a stickler for mileage as it helps place me... Continue Reading →

Autumn is in full swing! While there is not one chorus of yellow, orange, and red singing in unison across the mountainside like other years, all of nature is now is in the chorus. I've been tracking this Aspen tree sitting in the front yard since I got here. Each day its voice would be... Continue Reading →

Ask any experienced photographer "what is the best camera?" and they will almost always tell you "the one you have with you." Having had a few solid point and shoots, a big SLR with interchangeable lenses, and a few iPhones I can now clearly see the wisdom in that statement. With the advent of Lightroom... Continue Reading →

That rattle in the sprocket was really starting to worry me. Whenever I'd touch it before it always seemed solid. I called Santa Clara Cycle who recently (< 350 miles ago) put a new tire on it and they offered to look at it. I was 200 miles away and not really interested in trailering... Continue Reading →

Diabetes camp has always been a sacred place for me. Looking back in my high school and college days I always valued the time those in their 20s gave as camp counselors and mentors. I remember reading an article in the local newspaper confirming that those in their 20s and 30s have a special window... Continue Reading →

Now with the motorcycle safely in the garage and most of my gear up here (minus my heated vest), it's time to go riding. I know at home I tend to like to have my heated vest once the temperature drops below 60°. Given that the air is considerably drier up here I'm thinking I'll... Continue Reading →

So it's day two in Lake Tahoe. To say it was cold was an understatement. The morning started off in the low 20s. A friend of mine was traveling from South San Jose up to Lake Tahoe with a motorcycle trailer the day before I left. The good news is I didn't have to trailer... Continue Reading →

Ever have those callbacks to odd cult films in your childhood? Mr. Destiny is that movie for me. Every so often I come back to the scene where Michael Caine and James Belushi discuss how decisions and outcome affect the future trajectory of life. I always find it interesting how actions and reactions pave the... Continue Reading →

I remember growing up in the South always having a whole house fan. It occupied a 2' x 2' hole in the ceiling usually upstairs. We almost never ran it in as a kid I remember thinking, "why do we have this contraption that we never use?" The switch to turn it on was high... Continue Reading →